World Cup: Belgium takes home bronze in stale third-place match

In an uneventful third-place match, Belgium took care of England for the second time in Russia. The Three Lions go home empty-handed but with pride.

Belgium defeated England 2-0 in Saint Petersburg to finish the World Cup in third-place, the best ever finish for the Red Devils. The two goals were scored by Thomas Meunier and Eden Hazard. Meunier got the game off to a quick start as he knocked in a cross past Jordan Pickford. The rest of the first-half saw little chances from either side.

The second-half had both managers have their men play more attacking. England was pushing numbers forward and trying to get crosses in. Once again though, the Three Lions lacked the killer instinct in open play and conviction behind their shots. Six of England’s 15 shots were on target.

Belgium closed it on another great counter-attack as Eden Hazard finished the game with a near post shot past Pickford. Hazard ends his World Cup with three goals. The game itself was pretty dull and lacked the effort and wide open play we are used to seeing in third-place matches. Both sides are going home though proud of their performances.

What’s next for these two

Both Belgium and England had their best World Cup finishes in over 20 years. Both sides are young and both have the potential to achieve bigger and better things in future tournaments. They can both do that in just a few months in the inaugural UEFA Nations League.

Belgium and England sit in League A, the top division of the UNL that consists of the top 12 European international sides. It also consists of the UEFA Nations League Finals which awards the winner of the competition.

As you can see, Belgium’s group is much easier than England’s. They are the favorites in Group 2 with Switzerland and Iceland to advance to the Finals. England will have a much tougher group with World Cup finalists Croatia and newly managed Spain. I don’t expect either team to get relegated to League B as England will go into the UNL as the second-best team in Group 4.

After the UNL, Belgium and England should comfortably advance to Euro 2020. England is in the unique position to have home-field advantage in the semifinals and final if they were to advance. All three matches will be at Wembley and England has always performed well at tournaments they have hosted. If they reach the last four, England could have the host crowd push them to the title.

Next: EPL Preseason Schedule

Depending on the draw, England will be seen as a dark-horse for Euro 2020. Belgium will be among the top favorites to win it. All of their stars will now return to their clubs for the 2018-19 Premier League season.